prowrestlingfandomcom-20200223-history
Jerry Flynn
|birth_place = Tampa, Florida |death_date = |death_place = |resides = British Columbia |billed = |trainer = Boris Malenko |debut = 1989 |retired = }} William Brenneman (November 21, 1959) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jerry Flynn. Known for his martial arts gimmick and "mullet" hairstyle, he worked in Japanese wrestling promotions and for World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s. Professional wrestling Jerry Flynn's professional wrestling career began with training under Boris Malenko. He made his debut in FMW in 1989. During this time, he befriended fellow student Michael Bollea, later known as Horace Hogan. In 1991, Flynn debuted in the Japanese shoot style wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi and remained there for a few years. This period also saw Flynn face Masakatsu Funaki on the co-promotional SWS/WWF SuperWrestle card on December 12, 1991. World Championship Wrestling By the mid '90s, Flynn had worked as a jobber for the WWF, performing in a few house shows before making his way into WCW with help from Brian Blair, a friend of road agent Paul Orndorff, and Mark Starr, who helped gain Flynn a tryout at Universal Studios Florida for a WCW WorldWide taping. He began performing regularly on WCW's secondary TV program, WCW Saturday Night, in 1997 and by the following year was gaining numerous wins over low-card performers. Later that same year, he won a match elevating him to Monday Nitro, the company's flagship program. He then became a member of The First Family, a heel stable managed by Jimmy Hart. However, an injury Flynn sustained led to the eventual disestablishment of the group. Flynn also performed outside of WCW during this time. He wrestled on a tour with New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1999 and claimed to have been well received in the promotion. On September 19, 2000 in Tampa, Florida, he also unsuccessfully faced Mike Rapada in a tournament final for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. In time, Flynn became a preliminary WCW wrestler in 1998 and 1999. He had a short-lived feud with Ernest "The Cat" Miller where Flynn defeated Miller and Sonny Onoo in a handicap match at the Uncensored pay-per-view. Later that year, he unsuccessfully participated in the Junkyard Invitational at Bash at the Beach. He then began a feud with mixed martial arts fighter Tank Abbott which Flynn later expressed enthusiasm for. During this time, Flynn's persona emphasized his shootfighting skills including a "shootfight rules" match against The Wall on Thunder. His feud with Abbott culminated at Souled Out 2000 where Abbott defeated him via knock-out in a mere 1:39. Independent circuit On September 19, 2000 in Tampa, Florida, he also unsuccessfully faced Mike Rapada in a tournament final for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He wrestled a tour of Puerto Rico for World Wrestling Council, where he briefly held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship in February 2001, before retiring. Outside of wrestling Jerry Flynn is a legitimate black belt in taekwondo, and he briefly owned and operated his own school of martial arts. Jerry Flynn vacations outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota where him and former manager Dan Thompson enjoy ice-fishing and scrabble. Flynn also fought mixed martial arts in the WCC (World Combat Championship) losing to Fred Floyd in an alternate bout. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **Savate kick **Superkick *'Signature moves' **Ankle lock **Cross armbreaker **Hook kick **Shoot kick **Spin kick *'Managers' **Jimmy Hart **Dan Thompson *'Nicknames' **"Lightning Foot" Championships and accomplishments *World Wrestling Council **WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship(1 time) *1-Time SWA Heavyweight Champion *1-Time IWF Heavyweight Champion *PWI ranked him #242 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1999 See also *Jerry Flynn's event history External links * Profile * Jerry Flynn Profile at Online World of Wrestling Category:American wrestlers Category:1959 births Category:1989 debuts Category:2001 retirements Category:Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling alumni Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi alumni Category:Super World Sports alumni Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling Council alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Living people Category:Male wrestlers